The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-02-17
Scientific and Industrial Notes.

RG1CAGIiII SSuO 4AAl1otI1Cl 1tOtGSs
Prepared exclusively for the v1RGININ.l
Probably no product introduced into the
industrial world has made such rapid
progress or has been attended with such
than four years ago when the Marysville
district was opened and its gas brought to
the notice of the capitalists and manu-
facturers of Pittsburg, natural gas was no
trial world than was electric lighting in
the time Of Sir Humphrey Davy. Yet in
such an incredibly short space of time it
has reached gigantic proportions. In the
state Of Pennsylvania alone there are at
present upwards of IS natural gas COM
panies having combined capital of more
than $25. 100000, In the year 1885 natural
gas displaced 3,l6l 900 tons Of coal, valued
at 81, S54, 200, and in the year just closed
this amount was probably quadrupled.
Although the development of the natu-
raj gas Industry has all taken place in the
last few years it is by no means new pro-
duet. For centuries the chinese have
been obtaining supplies Of natural gas
from the Tsien TuoE Using district from
wells ranging from l 800 to 1000 feet deep.
transporting it through bamboo pipes and
burning it with clay burners. In this
country burning springs, . that is springs
yielding natural gas, have been known
ever since the times of the Jesuit mission
aries. Washington in one of his trips
through the Kanawha valley noticed one
of these burning springs and endeayored
to have the district which included it set
apart as a national park. Fredonla, N. Y,
has however, the honor of first putting
natural gas to a practical use. In 1921 a
gas spring was discovered on the banks Of
the Canadaway creek. near Main street
bridge. and in 1924 the village was lighted
from it on the occasion of Lafayette s
visit to that section. For short time
through the efforts Of an enterprising New
Yorker, the lighthouse at Barcelona, a
small harbor en- Lake Erie, was lighted
with natural gas. Its first use in manu-
featuring, however, was in the Kanawha
/ Valley, West Va, in 1S41, when it was
used in boiling furnace used in evapor-
ating salt water. Rogers & Burchfield of
Leechburg, Pa. first used it in iron max
ing, and the Rochester Tumbler Works,
of Rochester, Pa, were the first to use it
in glass making.
Natural gas is found in almost every
q oto anI flrritnru nf tho JTnitnd of
but only in a few of sufficient quantity to
be of practical use. Almost every county
Of western Pennsylvania has paying wells /;
Ohio has the important Findlay district,
West Virginia has the Kanawha and Cum
berland districts. Illinois has three areas,
in Champaign, La Sale and Montgomery
counties respectively. 1t is also found in
considerable quantities in Catteragus, AL
leghany and Chatagua counties, N. Y,
and III Fort Scott, Kan.
Just as gypsum is found associated with
salt deposits, SO salt water and petroleum
are found in connection with natural gas.
Geographically speaking, natural gas is
found from the Trenton formation up
ward. The wells of Pittsburgh and vicin-
ity draw their supply from Venaugo sand,
the Sheffield sand and the Bradford sand,
all belonging to the Devonian age. The
conditions upon which the occurrence of
natural gas depend are first, there must
be a porous sandstone overlaid with an i'm
pervious stratum, to act as a reservoir in
which the gas is stored +; second, the
stratum above the gas sand must not be
cracked to any extent, otherwise the gas
would have escaped into the air ages ago i;
third, the dip or inclination of the rock
must not be too great fourth, if the rela-
tive proportion Of gas to oil and salt water
is not great, the wells will soon begin to
force up salt water and be worthless fifth,
the pressure must be sufficiently great to
Dri. g the gas to the surface. Probably
the disturbances to which the strata of
this valley have been subject to will pre-
vent the finding of natural gas in this sec
ton.
The composition of natural gas from
different wells and even from the same
well at different times, is found to vary
| largely According to recent analyses
made by Mr.. S. A. Ford, the average com
position Of the gas in the vicinity of Pitts
burgh is marsh gas 81 per cent, hydrogen
% per cent, ethyhic hy6ride 5 per cent
nitrogen per cent, with small quantities
of carbon acid gas, carbonic oxide, oxygen
and defiant gas. Thus it will be seen te
differ from coal gas in the small amount
Of defiant gas and other hydro carbons
that it.contains.
The origin of natural gas is disputed
question. Some think that it was formed
in the rock ages ago, perhaps not in thu
formation now found in. but coming from
the decomposition of life forms in under
lying strata. Others hold that it is form
ing at the present time from the inter
change Of the elements in the superheatet
stream of salt water which has percolatet
through the crusts from the ocean bed
and the carbon which is found in the diff
ferent strata of the earth.
/ All agree, however, that the supply 0
gas is limited and that it is capable Of ex
haustion. How long it will last is ques
ton. Experience shows that in certain
districts the supply of individual wells i
soon exhausted. in other wells the amount
produced are decreasing slowly while som,
of the large ''gassersH have been pouring
outmilliops of feet daily without apparen
diminution. On the other hand certain
"roarersn have been exhausted in a shor
time. Mr.. II. NJ. Chance, by calculating
the amount of porous sandstone in west
ern Pennsylvania that can act as reser
voir and dividing this amount by the dali
consumption, has estimated that the en-
tirn cog cnrnl11 II ,adia1o Of g